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Massive cyclones found at Saturn's poles

PASADENA, Calif., Oct. 13 (UPI) -- New images from the U.S. space agency's Cassini spacecraft reveal giant cyclones at both of Saturn's poles, posing a mystery for scientists.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration researchers say the newly discovered cyclone at Saturn's north pole is only visible in near-infrared wavelengths because the north pole is in winter. But researchers have now mapped the planet's north pole region in detail in infrared. Time-lapse movies of the clouds circling the north pole show the whirlpool-like cyclone is rotating at 325 miles per hour, more than twice as fast as the highest winds measured in cyclonic features on Earth.

That cyclone is surrounded by a honeycombed-shaped hexagon, which itself does not seem to move while the clouds within it are moving at more than 300 miles per hour. NASA said neither the fast-moving clouds inside the hexagon nor the newly discovered cyclone seem to disrupt the hexagon. The space agency didn't identify the makeup of the hexagon other than to call it odd.

New Cassini imagery of Saturn's south pole shows similar cyclonic activity.

"These are truly massive cyclones, hundreds of times stronger than the most giant hurricanes on Earth," said Kevin Baines, a Cassini scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The new images are available at: http://www.nasa.gov/cassini.

Science moves closer to infertility cures

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say advances in the analysis of proteins are providing researchers with an expanding understanding of male infertility.

The San Francisco State University researchers say proteins found in sperm are central to understanding male infertility and could be used to determine new diagnostic methods and fertility treatments.

The research by Assistant Professor Diana Chu and post-doctoral fellow Tammy Wu focused on how proteomics -- a relatively new field involving the function of proteins within cells -- can be successfully applied to infertility, helping identify which proteins in sperm cells are dysfunctional.

"Up to 50 percent of male-factor infertility cases in the clinic have no known cause, and therefore no direct treatment," said the scientists. "The ultimate goal is that a doctor could be able to say to a patient, 'this is the protein that is mis-regulated in your sperm and this is the drug that corrects it or decreases the level of that protein.' "

The research appears in the journal Molecular and Cellular Proteomics.

Odyssey begins its third mission extension

PASADENA, Calif., Oct. 13 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency has announced the third two-year extension of the mission of its unmanned Mars Odyssey spacecraft.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said the orbit of the longest-serving of six spacecraft now studying Mars is being altered to gain even better sensitivity for its infrared mapping of Martian minerals. And during the mission extension through September 2010, NASA said Odyssey will point its camera with more flexibility than ever before.

Scientists said the orbit adjustment will allow Odyssey's Thermal Emission Imaging System to look down at sites when it's mid-afternoon, rather than late afternoon. That will allow the multipurpose camera to take advantage of the infrared radiation emitted by rocks to provide clues to the rocks' makeup.

The orbit was altered by the firing of the spacecraft's thrusters for nearly six minutes on Sept. 30 -- the final day of the mission's second two-year extension.

"This was our biggest maneuver since 2002, and it went well," said Gaylon McSmith, Odyssey mission manager for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "The spacecraft is in good health. The propellant supply is adequate for operating through at least 2015."

Mars Odyssey was launched in 2001.

New tool for brain surgeons is developed

SOUTHAMPTON, England, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- British scientists say they've created a rapid method of measuring brain function during the removal of brain tumors, thereby minimizing damage to tissue.

Currently, the method used to avoid severing nerves and causing neurological brain damage during such medical procedures involves asking the patient to perform certain tasks while electrically stimulating parts of the brain bordering where the surgeon plans to cut. The electrical stimulation inhibits brain function in that region, revealing whether losing that tissue would cause permanent damage. The process is effective, albeit slow.

Now Paul Hoy and his colleagues at the University of Southampton are developing a rapid and highly sensitive method for measuring brain function across the entire area during surgery. They said their method is based on observing blood flow in the brain. Active brain regions have increased blood flow, and this change can be observed by looking at light reflected off the brain because hemoglobin absorbs light differently, depending on whether it carries oxygen.

The research will be presented Oct. 21 in Rochester, N.Y., during the annual joint meeting of the Optical Society of America and the American Physical Society's Division of Laser Science.